Theresa May rules out replacing Irish backstop in EU deal after Brussels trip revealed

Ouch. Labour MP Janet Daby says she "finds the Home Secretary's tone most disturbing...I feel that he sounds like Enoch Powell in re-incarnation."

Sajid Javid says she has chosen to "lower the tone of this debate".

Theresa May told the cabinet this morning that the government is carrying out "urgent" work to find an alternative to the backstop. 

The prime minister's official spokesman told a briefing for Westminster journalists:

"Cabinet agreed that it was positive that, for the first time, Parliament had indicated that it could support the withdrawal agreement, subject to changes to the backstop, and that it had reiterated its commitment to both avoiding a hard border and leaving the EU with a deal.

The prime minister said that our objective now is to secure a legally-binding way of guaranteeing we cannot be trapped indefinitely in the backstop.

To achieve this, we have launched urgent pieces of work examining alternative arrangements to the backstop and considering legal changes that could provide a unilateral exit mechanism or a time limit to the backstop.

The PM said the discussions with the EU will not be easy, but parliament has sent a clear message that a change to the backstop is the only way to get a deal approved.

The PM added that last week showed that a second referendum does not have the support of the House.

She said that, while Labour did not whip for the Brady amendment, Jeremy Corbyn has said he also has concerns about the backstop, so this is an issue that needs to be resolved not just for "our colleagues", by which the prime minister obviously meant Conservative colleagues, and the DUP, but for MPs across the House."

This is from the Press Association as a peer recalls one of his memories with the former Labour prime minister, Tony Blair.

Tony Blair "spent most of the time looking out the window" during meetings with Scottish Government leaders, a Lord has said.

Giving evidence to Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee on the relationship between the UK and Scottish Governments, Lord Wallace said the daydreaming occurred during Joint Ministerial Committees (JMCs).

The Liberal Democrat peer, who was Scotland's deputy first minister from Scottish devolution until 2005, with short spells as interim first minister, questioned the formal inter-governmental machinery at the time.

JMC meetings involve devolved government leaders along with those of the UK Government.

Lord Wallace said: "The Joint Ministerial Committee as it were at the top level of Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, First Minister, Deputy First Minister.

"I remember meeting in Edinburgh, in Cardiff and by the time it came to the third meeting in Downing Street, I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that Tony Blair spent most of the time looking out the window.

"But actually, nothing much was achieved at them.

"You were failing to understand the point of them and that's when they fell away and I think they were only revived after the Scottish National Party came to office in Edinburgh - where there's perhaps arguably a greater need for them."

Theresa May is set to deliver her speech in Belfast at around 3pm on Brexit.

Here is an extract from the speech Downing Street sent to journalists on Monday

“I know this is a concerning time for many people here in Northern Ireland.

“But we will find a way to deliver Brexit that honours our commitments to Northern Ireland…

“…that commands broad support across the community in Northern Ireland…

“…and that secures a majority in the Westminster Parliament, which is the best way to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.

“As we do so, I hope we can also take steps to move towards the restoration of devolution – so that politicians in Northern Ireland can get back to work on the issues that matter to the people they represent.

“For ultimately, the measure of this moment in Northern Ireland’s history must be more than whether we avoid a return to the challenges of the past.

“It must be how, together, we move forwards to shape the opportunities of the future.

“As Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, it is a profound honour and duty to play my part in shaping that future…

“…and to do my utmost to support the peace, prosperity and progress that can give the people of Northern Ireland, the brightest future for generations.”

Theresa May is now speaking In Belfast. 

She says she sees it as one of her "most profound responsibilities" to preserve peace in Northern Ireland. 

It is the Northern Ireland parties, civil society groups and the public that have done the most to protect the peace agreement, she says.

Theresa May says the Good Friday Agreement was successful in "allowing people of different traditions to feel that those traditions and their identities were protected".

She says the principles in the Agreement will "forever be honoured by the United Kingdom government".

She is a fierce unionist, she ways, but wants "an open and tolerant union of nations and people".

Theresa May says she accepted the need for an "insurance policy or bridging arrangement to guarantee no hard border if the future relationship was not in place in time" - in other words, the backstop.

She says she believed her deal could secure the support of Parliament but has had to accept "that in its current form it cannot".

The prime minister admits it is now clear that she will only secure support for a withdrawal deal if changes are made to the backstop.

Theresa May makes four guarantees to the people of Northern Ireland:

1. No hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

2. No customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of Great Britain

3. The continuation of co-operation mechanisms between the UK and Ireland

4. Upholding the principles of the Good Friday Agreement